What to expect at Comic-Con 2012 San Diego

David Konow, 4th July 2012

Before Star Wars, the major studios didn’t bring their movies to comic and sci-fi conventions, and it was indeed Lucas’s space opera that opened the door for all things geek.

Actually, Star Wars blew the door off its hinges, because appearing at Comic-Con, which takes place at the San Diego Convention Center, is big business these days, and it’s hard to think of a better way to get the word out about your movies to the steadily marching geek army.

And sure enough, several weeks before the big event, all badges are sold out, so if you have one and are going this year, you’re definitely very lucky, because Comic-Con is indeed the ultimate geek Woodstock with lots of great stuff to check out and enjoy.

It kicks off July 11 with "Preview Night" at 6:00 P.M., and continues from Thursday, July 12 through Sunday, July 15.

On preview night, Warner Brothers TV will have world premiere screenings of their new shows 666 Park Avenue, the new JJ Abrams show Revolution, and more. Then on Thursday there are panels such as "Building the Foundation to a Page Turning Story," "From Fan to Creator: Goal Setting For Creative Types" featuring the Tony Robbins of Geeks Douglas Neff, along with a Battlestar Galactica panel hosted by Richard Hatch, a Filmation symposium (the animation company behind The Groovie Goolies, Fat Albert, and He-Man), a Stan Lee presentation, and infinitely more.

Thursday also features a numbers of panels, including discussions about Voltron, Transfomers and a tribute to Ray Bradbury. Movie previews kick off at 2:05 with Disney’s showcase for Tim Burton’s Frankenweenie, Sam Raimi’s Oz the Great and Powerful, and Wreck it Ralph. Burton and Raimi will both be in attendance. And yes, there will be a celebration of 1982- known as the greatest geek year at the movies. In addition, Comic-Con 2012 is slated to host a panels for the upcoming Beauty and the Beast TV reboot, Walking Dead, Expendables 2 (with Sly Stallone), Dexter, and much more.

Friday the 13th features discussions about Nickelodeon's Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (the cartoon show, not the movie that’s currently on hold at Paramount) and Hasbro Star Wars toys, along with a 35th anniversary celebration of Judge Dredd, a Firefly reunion with Joss Whedon, Michael E. Uslan, the man who brought Batman back and who wrote the book The Boy Who Loved Batman.

There are also panels for the Walking Dead, Star Wars origami, Tron Uprising, Game of Thrones, Black DynamiteTotal Recall, a 30 year celebration of Blade Runner, a 25th anniversary celebration of Masters of the Universe, a 35 year celebration of Heavy Metal magazine, and more.

On Saturday the 14th there will be a symposium about After Earth, the next M Night Shyamalan film starring Will Smith, Planet of the Apes in comics, Archie comics, the TV show Once Upon a Time, Django Unchained (with Tarantino appearing), Futurama, Mars Attacks, the Simpsons, Sid and Marty Krofft (Pufnstuf, Land of the Lost), Family Guy, Star Wars: The Clone Wars, Mad Magazine, Halo 4, Iron Man 3 and what’s sure to make every geek salivate, panels on Pacific Rim, Man of Steel, and The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey, all coming from Warner Brothers. (The pilot for Revolution will be screened from 6:00 – 7:00 P.M.) You can also test your geek knowledge with the Star Wars Trivia Panel, which could make a hell of a game show on the Sci-Fi Channel.

And last, but certainly not least, highlights of Sunday July 15 include a Jack Kirby tribute panel, a children’s film festival, a Fringe Q&A, a graphic novel on iPad discussion, symposiums on The Amazing Spider-Man, Dr. Who, Max Brooks Zombie Survival 101 panel, a 20th anniversary Buffy the Vampire Slayer celebration, a 15 year celebration of Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone, and a whole lot more.

Obviously, a ton of news is going to hit this weekend, so keep your eyes peeled on TG for the scoops that will shake loose as the 100,000 strong geek army descends on San Diego.